


Second Chances

by aFan1



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23923576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aFan1/pseuds/aFan1
Summary: Ymir doubled back to save Reiner and Bertolt, but what if Krista followed her? Can she save Ymir, or will she be haunted by her decisions?
Relationships: Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss & Ymir, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or plot lines relating to Attack on Titan.
> 
> A/N: So I wrote this in like 4 hours this evening after finishing AoT last night (Amazing anime, started and finished it in like 4 days). Hopefully it isn't too bad or seems OOC. Let me know. It's my first completed story and first AoT story. There's a part 2 and it's finished, but I want to see what the reception is first, before uploading it. Happy reading!
> 
> A/N 2: I decided to post it all as one now. If you happened to read the first part, you can skip to the first line break to resume.

By what seemed like a miracle from God, they managed to buy enough time to escape from Reiner’s Armored Titan form. The titans were attacking him and Bertolt posed no match to fend them off by himself. It was over. Another win for humanity.

Krista and Connie were trailing the rest of the Scouts on horseback with Ymir following in her titan form. Everything worked out just as Krista had hoped. That is until Ymir stopped in the middle of the open field to look behind her at Reiner and Bertolt.

There was no hesitation when Krista did the same. “What is it?!” Ymir looked to her and it was hard to distinguish what was going through her mind. She was a hard book to read to begin with, but in titan form, that difficulty amplified tenfold.

“Hey ugly! Get with the program! We were given an order!” Connie yelled at the two of them, but mostly in the direction of Ymir. It was becoming blatantly obvious that getting Krista to do much of anything without Ymir would be impossible.

Neither of the two women paid any mind to Connie. Ymir, as gently as she could in her titan form, wrapped her massive hand around Krista’s petite body. She caressed the top of her head with one of her fingers while Krista gazed at her in bewilderment, and probably a bit of fear. Fear of the unknown and fear of the reason why Ymir stopped. Despite the cover that Ymir tried to keep in front of her comrades, Krista always did know her best.

“Please forgive me.”

Krista’s stomach sank quicker than any blade could in the back of a nape. “Wha—,” she tried to get out, but Ymir already broke off into a sprint back towards Reiner and Bertolt.

“Wait! What are you doing?!” Krista screamed and everything felt like it had slowed to a crawl. She could vaguely hear Connie desperately pleading, “let her go!” How could she let her go? What would happen? _Stop it, you fool! You know what will happen… she—she’ll die!_

Before she could comprehend what she was doing, Krista took off after Ymir as fast as she could on horseback. The speed of Ymir couldn’t be match, but when she closed in on the horde attacking Reiner, Krista quickly jumped off the horse and launch her anchor into the flesh of Ymir.

The ODM gear pulled her to the top of Ymir’s shoulder and she gripped the dark hair of the titan as tightly as she could while Ymir tried fighting off the other titans. Krista looked around at their bleak situation and tears welled up in her eyes. She clenched a fist and hit Ymir with everything she had. Of course, it did nothing but cause Ymir to look at her from the corner of her eye.

“Ymir! Wh-why? Why don’t you ever listen to me?!” Krista choked back a sob and angrily brushed away the tears that had yet to fall. “I told you, and I’ll tell you again. I will always be your ally!”

“If you die… then—then I’ll die too. Do you remember what you told me, Ymir? The promise we made?”

_The secret that Ymir has tried so hard to keep for the past several decades is close to unraveling. How stupid could she be? To think that Krista wouldn’t ask questions on how she and Daz made it down that cliff without dying was so stupid. Krista was innocent and sweet and naïve, but the girl was far from stupid._

_So stupid, Ymir. To reveal yourself just to make some stupid girl happy. Damn it._

_Ymir had stood from her position against the fence post and walked past Krista, who was staring at her in bewilderment. If only she knew the truth, she’d be so confused. Angry, even. Maybe hurt._

_“Yeah, alright. If I have to trust someone, then it might as well be you. Just… give me your word.” Ymir gently lays her hands on top of Krista’s shoulders and locks eyes with her. Her eyes have always told a story to Krista that she kept hidden on her face from everyone else._

_She was a little scared, but more than that, she was determined, and she was looking at her with… what? Kindness? Adoration? Love, even? That was always hard to figure out for Krista. Maybe it was because until she joined the Cadets and met Ymir, she lived a life a solitude and loneliness. Social cues were hard to figure out, because she had no experience. The only thing she could do was be extremely nice and just pray… pray that people would like her._

_By some miracle, that person was Ymir._

_“When the day comes for me to reveal myself to everyone, promise… promise to take back your name and live your life.”_

“You made me promise… promise to take back my name and live my life.” The tears fell, but Krista was determined to save Ymir. No matter what. She repositioned her anchors to the back of Ymir’s neck and planted her feet firmly at her weak spot – the nape. “Ymir, I took back my name. And I’m going to live my life…”

Krista unsheathed her blades and gripped them with such force her knuckles turned white and her arms shook slightly. She raised the blade above her head, pointing downward towards the nape. She had to be honest – she wasn’t sure if this was going to work.

_“Haha, you have got to be joking! The only thing we have in common is a second chance.”_

“Ymir… if the only thing we have in common is a second chance, then I’m going to make sure you live to have that second chance… a third, fourth, fifth, sixth chance… however many damn chances it takes for you to make good on your promise to marry me!”

Ymir’s titan form whipped her head away from the growing horde of titans attacking Reiner to look at Krista. She saw the glint of the blade and out of instinct growled. She shook her head back and forth, and Krista swore she could distinguish a ‘no’ intermingled with Ymir’s growls.

_I’m sick of her protecting me. Making decisions for me. I—It’s my turn to protect her!_

“I’m going to live my life, Ymir… and I’m going to live it with you!” Krista screams with everything she has and thrusts down on her blade. The howls of Krista and Ymir drown out everything else. Blood squirts everywhere. All over Krista’s uniform, all over her face.

It becomes eerily quiet, at least in Krista’s mind. Everything around her becomes a void of black space. It’s just her on her knees with a bloody blade. Then, something walks towards her. Or rather someone. But Krista is too exhausted, mentally and physically, so she droops her head to look at her blood-stained hands.

The crunch of boots makes Krista tilt her head up enough to realize that they are the standard issue military boots. The very same that she has on her feet now. “Look at my Krista…”

Krista gasps and snaps her head up. Ymir! But she isn’t there. She’s just recalling that time in Trost…

_“Look at my Krista, keepin’ the peace. You are so gonna have to marry me when this crap is over!” The weight of Ymir’s arm around Krista’s shoulders is weighing her down more than it ever did in that particular moment in Trost. Her laugh, so rare to hear, but something so heartwarming and beautiful. Krista just stares at Ymir’s face. So joyful in that moment, even while surrounded by the fallen bodies of their comrades. Why? So that Krista doesn’t dwell on the carnage? Or is she joyful, because Krista is still alive?_

Krista hears the crunch of the boots once more, but this time, they are behind her. She doesn’t look this time, but she feels it. She _feels_ her leaning close into her. Their faces nearly touching, but Krista’s eyes are closed. She swears she can feel Ymir’s breath ghost across her cheek. But no—no that can’t be. Krista squeezes her eyes shut even harder.

_“Don’t worry sweetheart, your true identity is safe with me. I haven’t told a soul and I don’t plan to.”_

Krista lets out a shaky breath and mouths the response she made to Ymir on that snowy mountain, “So was – was your whole reasoning for joining the Cadet Corp just to find me? Why would you even care?” She feels the huff of breath against her cheek. It can’t be true, but she pretends it is anyway.

_“I don’t know. Maybe I relate to your struggle.”_

Krista smiles and one small stream of tears manages to fall from her eye as she remembers the moments with Ymir. So simple at the time, but so meaningful in the now. They may be the only memories of Ymir she has left to recall.

_“Bullshit.”_

“Hey, what the hell kind of ally are you if you’re just gonna sit here and not do a damn thing?” Ymir? Krista’s eyes snap open and the crystalized sea of irises look all around the space of black nothingness looking for her. But she isn’t here. Her words just crash all around Krista.

_“I’m sorry, sweetie. I know you think I did this for you, but at the end of the day, I did it for me.”_

That isn’t true. Not all of it anyway. The actions Ymir took were selfish. She would disregard all of Krista’s wishes if it meant keeping her safe. Keeping her alive. She would throw away their friendship, relationship… whatever the hell it was and do what she thought was best for Krista. Krista knew that, deep down.

 _“A_ _long time ago, I stole the power of the titans from one of their comrades. Not much I can do against them. Sooner or later, I’m screwed. But they said if I cooperate, hand you over, maybe I’ve got a shot at leniency. Maybe my crime gets overlooked. You’re crucial to the church. You know the truth about the walls.”_

What Ymir wasn’t sure of though, is if she could even hand Krista over. But what other choice was there? To beg for mercy and to beg for a happy life with Krista? They both knew that would never happen. So, what the hell was the plan? Give Reiner and Bertolt the slip and run away together?

_“When this world started going to hell, I thought to myself ‘couldn’t hurt to have a bargaining chip in my back pocket.’ The castle is as close to death as I ever want to get. The whole experience traumatized me, gave me perspective. If I have to play dirty to stay alive, then I have to play dirty. Pathetic, yeah. Doesn’t make me the ideal friend. Like I said though, I didn’t do this for you.”_

At the end of the day, Ymir would die and die happy. She would die happy, because she would close her eyes at the end while chained down on her knees. And as the mindless titan drew near with its mouth gaping wide open, Ymir would smile. She would smile, because in her mind, Krista would be looking at her with her big, innocent eyes and be smiling at Ymir despite what she was. Despite everything she did, Ymir would die being able to look at the face of a goddess. The goddess that gave her a chance at life and at true love.

_“You deserve better, but there it is. I need you.”_

Krista stands to her feet and clenches her fists. The blonde throws her head back and screams, “Ymir!” She keeps screaming and then she hears something. The incessant growls of the titans and Bertolt screaming. Krista opens her eyes and gasps out loud.

Ymir was in front of her. She was still entangled in the flesh of her titan form and she had a gaping wound in her shoulder that was spewing a lot of blood. But she was there. And she was alive.

Krista stumbled forward and ripped Ymir free. The taller girl slumped against Krista’s shoulder unconscious. She looked between Ymir and Bertolt. Her former comrade had tears spilling down his cheeks while he dropped his blade in defeat.

She looked back at Ymir. Her face was covered with the markings of her titan, but she looked peaceful. Krista only had one choice and she made it without hesitation. She wrapped her arms as tightly as she could around Ymir.

Then, she jumped.

* * *

Krista was sitting by herself in the dungeon with the holding cells. Inside one of those cells, was a sleeping Ymir. She had a bandage wrapped tightly around the shoulder wound that Krista had inflicted when she tried to rip her from her titan form. Her body was slowly regenerating itself, but the process was slow. She was weaker than normal after everything that had happened.

It had been several hours since they had returned back home from the kidnapping attempt made by Reiner and Bertolt. No one really knows what happened to the two of them. The military is optimistic that they are dead, but… but Krista wasn’t so sure.

She sighs and pulls at the sleeve of her button up shirt. She was still in shock a little bit. How she managed to get Ymir out of her titan and back home was something that she would probably mull over the rest of her life. They should have never survived.

When Krista jumped from the decomposing body of Ymir’s titan, she used one of her anchors off of a mindless titan to crash them both to the ground without any major injuries. But they should have died there, on the ground in each other’s arms. A titan should have found them and made quick work of snacking on them like a piece of jerky.

But – But that didn’t happen. When a titan started to make their way to Ymir and Krista, the ground vibrated a little indicating something coming towards the two women from behind them.

The next thing Krista knew, Connie was throwing the reigns to the horse she left behind at her. “Come on! We have to get out of here now!” He stuck his hands out and his eyes were large with fear and urgency. “Krista! Give me Ymir and let’s get the hell out of here!”

Krista jumped up quicker than she thought her body could with the exhaustion she was feeling. She dumped Ymir into Connie’s lap and pulled herself on top of her horse. Krista couldn’t remember much of the ride home. If they ever met up with Eren and the rest of the squad. How she got Ymir’s blood off of her skin and into clean clothes.

She just was in the field surrounded by titans, then she was sitting outside of Ymir’s cell waiting for her to wake up. All she could manage to do was revel in the feeling of gratefulness. She was so grateful to have Ymir with her. She was grateful they were alive, even if they didn’t know what would happen to the two of them.

“Hey, sweetie.”

Krista gasped “Ymir,” and rushed forward to the cell bars. Looking through, she could see Ymir leaning up on one elbow with a playful smirk on her lips.

“Didn’t really see you as the kinky type, Historia.” Her eyes filled with tears as she looked Ymir from head to toe. Just to make sure this was real. That she was real and not a figment of her imagination. _Wait, kinky…?_

“Wha—What are you talking about, Ymir?”

“Locking me up in a dimly lit cell with no shirt on is definitely something I wasn’t expecting right off the bat, Historia.” Ymir tosses her head back and laughs. That laugh that Krista loved so much and was so worried she’d only hear again in her memories. “You are so gonna have to marry me before you get to take advantage of me in that way.”

“Sh-shut up, Ymir!”

Ymir just laughs, and Krista, she just stares at her with tears in her eyes. She was here. She was alive. With that, Krista allowed herself to relax and smile back. This was their second chance. Not at life, but with each other.

* * *

_To my dear Historia_

Krista grips the papers tightly in hands and wills herself to keep her eyes free of tears. She was the queen now and she had to be strong in front of her people. They were all watching her, and she knew that Hange would have taken the liberty to read the contents of the letter before giving it to Krista.

_As I write this, Reiner’s standing at my side. He knows this is a love letter, but he’s still sneaking peeks. Honestly, it’s no wonder the creep’s still single. That said, he did give me his word that he’d deliver this letter to you._

Krista spares a glance at Hange from the corner of her eye. The two women lock eyes and, after a few moments, Hange droops her head. It’s a look that doesn’t typically come from the older woman. It’s a look of apology.

_He says he owes me for the time I doubled back to save him. I’m sorry about then. I never would have imagined myself choosing those two over you. I’m going to die soon, but I’ll die without regrets, or that’s what I’d like to say. Truth is, I do have one._

Krista’s eye fall into a look of deep sadness. Of a mourning that she has never felt. It was much worse than growing up without a family. It was much worse growing up in a world filled with loneliness. It was mourning the loss of someone she never imagined having in the first place. Someone who took her second chance at life and used it to make sure that Krista had a second chance.

Ymir never had to track Krista down in the Cadet Corp. Ymir never had to befriend her. Ymir never had to protect her. And that, that would be Krista’s biggest regret for the rest of her life. That Ymir chose to protect her to the very end, and Krista had the opportunity to do the same. Yet, she stayed on her horse and watched Ymir run to Reiner and Bertolt. Krista let her go like Connie said, and that is the one thing that will prevent her from living a life she could be proud of.

 _It’s that I never got to marry you._

The tears collect under Krista’s eyes and her body just wants to curl in on itself. But she remains strong and wipes the tears away. She promised Ymir that she would.

_With love,_

_Ymir_

Krista would be plagued with the memories of Ymir for the rest of her life. She would be tormented at night with the dreams of a life she could have had with Ymir. She would forever wake up and trace the love letter from someone who wasn’t her lover, but should have been.

But she would not break, because she made a promise. She made a promise to live her life and she would live a life that Ymir would be proud of.

She was Historia. Queen Historia Reiss.

She laid the letter down and stood to her feet to look at her people. She made a new promise right then. She would live her life and she would live the life that Ymir missed out on.

They missed their second chance, but Historia made a vow that, if history repeated itself in the future, she wouldn’t hesitate anymore when it came to Ymir. She would save her. Then, she would marry her, because Ymir’s biggest regret was also one of her own.

As Krista... no… As Historia stood with her head held high and a newfound will made of something stronger than the walls could ever have ever been, she could feel Ymir beside her. She could feel her drape her arm around her shoulders. She can imagine the grin plastered on her face and she can hear the adoration in Ymir's voice as she says,

_“Look at my Historia.”_


End file.
